I 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4352 

To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a pilot program 

establishing a patient self-scheduling appointment system, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 8, 2016 

Mr. MOULTON (for himself and Mrs. MCMORRIS RODGERS) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out 

a pilot program establishing a patient self-scheduling 

appointment system, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Faster Care for Vet5 erans Act of 2016’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) In June 2014 an internal audit conducted 

9 by the Department of Veterans Affairs found more 


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1 than 120,000 veterans waited at least 90 days for 

2 appointments for medical care or never received ap3 pointments. 

4 (2) One year later, and despite handling more 

5 appointments than in previous years, reports indi6 cate that the number of veterans waiting 30 days or 

7 more for medical care has increased by 50 percent. 

8 (3) In 2008, the Inspector General of the De9 partment estimated that 18 percent of outpatient 

10 appointment slots went unfilled because of patient 

11 no-shows or because facility personnel did not refill 

12 canceled appointments. 

13 (4) Wait times are not unique to the Depart14 ment of Veterans Affairs. The average wait time in 

15 the private sector is more than 18 days, but private 

16 sector hospitals and health systems are now 

17 leveraging technology to eliminate wait times and 

18 ensure every available appointment is used. 

19 (5) In June 2015 the Institute of Medicine 

20 called for a patient-oriented scheduling platform that 

21 allows patients to self-schedule care online at any 

22 time. 


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1 SEC. 3. PILOT PROGRAM ESTABLISHING A PATIENT SELF2 SCHEDULING APPOINTMENT SYSTEM. 

3 (a) PILOT PROGRAM.—Not later than 120 days after 

4 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

5 Veterans Affairs shall commence a pilot program under 

6 which veterans use an Internet website to schedule and 

7 confirm medical appointments at medical facilities of the 

8 Department of Veterans Affairs. 

9 (b) SELECTION OF LOCATIONS.—The Secretary shall 

10 select not less than three Veterans Integrated Services 

11 Networks in which to carry out the pilot program under 

12 subsection (a). 

13 (c) CONTRACTS.— 

14 (1) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary shall seek to 

15 enter into a contract with one or more contractors 

16 to provide the scheduling capability described in sub17 section (a). 

18 (2) NOTICE OF COMPETITION.—Not later than 

19 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

20 the Secretary shall issue a request for proposals for 

21 the contract described in paragraph (1). Such re22 quest shall be full and open to any contractor that 

23 is able to meet the criteria under paragraph (3). 

24 (3) SELECTION OF VENDORS.—Not later than 

25 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

26 the Secretary shall award a contract with one or 


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1 more contractors that have an existing commercially 

2 available online patient self-scheduling capability 

3 that— 

4 (A) allows patients to self-schedule, con5 firm, and modify outpatient and specialty care 

6 appointments in real time through an Internet 

7 website; 

8 (B) makes available, in real time, any ap9 pointments that were previously filled but later 

10 canceled by other patients; and 

11 (C) allows patients to use the online sched12 uling capability 24 hours a day, seven days a 

13 week. 

14 (4) INTEGRATION WITH EXISTING INFRASTRUC15 TURE.—The Secretary shall ensure that a contractor 

16 awarded a contract under this section is able to inte17 grate the online scheduling capability of the con18 tractor with the Veterans Health Information Sys19 tems and Technology Architecture of the Depart20 ment. 

21 (d) DURATION OF PILOT PROGRAM.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided by para23 graph (2), the Secretary shall carry out the pilot 

24 program under subsection (a) for an 18-month pe25 riod. 


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1 (2) EXTENSION.—The Secretary may extend 

2 the duration of the pilot program under subsection 

3 (a), and may expand the selection of Veterans Inte4 grated Services Networks under subsection (b), if 

5 the Secretary determines that the pilot program is 

6 reducing the wait times of veterans seeking medical 

7 care and ensuring that more available appointment 

8 times are filled. 

9 (e) REPORT.—Not later than one year after com10 mencing the pilot program under subsection (a), the Sec11 retary shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs 

12 of the House of Representatives and the Senate a report 

13 on the outcomes of the pilot program, including— 

14 (1) whether the pilot program demonstrated— 

15 (A) improvements to the ability of veterans 

16 to schedule medical appointments; and 

17 (B) a reduction in wait times for such 

18 medical appointments; and 

19 (2) any recommendations of the Secretary for 

20 expanding the pilot program to additional Veterans 

21 Integrated Services Networks. 

22 (f) USE OF FUNDS OTHERWISE APPROPRIATED.— 

23 No additional funds are authorized to be appropriated to 

24 carry out the pilot program under subsection (a) and such 

25 pilot program shall be carried out using amounts otherVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:50 Jan 08, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4352.IH H4352

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1 wise made available to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 

2 for the medical support and compliance account of the 

3 Veterans Health Administration. 

Æ 


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